So, I have to admit that I am on something of an Until Dawn kick recently. What can I say? I love the game and going through the different possibilities is a fun experience. So I thought to myself, how can I make this into something for my website? I know! How about I rank each of the characters from shittiest to the most redeeming. After all, the best part about this game is the fact that these characters are not just tropes in a horror movie… Well okay, if this was a movie, they probably would be. But since the game gives us plenty of time to flesh each of these characters out, it certainly gives each of them character and you can definitely relate to them… Even if they are kind of pieces of shit. So why not disect each character to determine which of them is the best of the bunch and which of them are the shittiest human beings? Sound fun? Well then, let’s get started.

Not Applicable: Dr. AJ Hill

I wanted to add Dr. Hill on here, but I didn’t really know where to put him. After having a long, fifteen second max, conversation with myself. I came to the conclusion that I can’t really judge him because there are two completely different personalities to the character.

The first one is a manifestation of Josh’s hallucinations and comes across as Josh perceives him, which is threatening, malevolent, and all together menacing. However, later in the game, when you discover Josh’s phone, you find out that Dr. Hill is a real person. Not only is he real, but he definitely seems, from the few text messages we see, to be a carrying and competent psychiatrist. He does seem to care for Josh and is worried whenever he stops taking his dosage of medication that could cause horrific hallucinations. So, ultimately, I decided that ranking the character just couldn’t work. Because there are two versions of him that exist no matter what you do, one menacing, and another nurturing. So he will be sitting off in his own little category.

Emily

Okay, so here is the truth. A lot of these characters are kind of shitty people or have the capacity to be shitty people. Shitty people exist in this world. But Emily isn’t just a shitty person, she is verbally and mentally abusive to Matt. Unlike Mike, whose lazy attitude and alpha personality shields him from a lot of Emily’s abuse, for the kind natured and quiet Matt, Emily does everything in her power to control his emotions, his body, and his mind. She verbally berets her boyfriend at every turn, calls him horrific names, demeans him whenever he doesn’t agree to everything that she says, and is just an all around evil human being. While the others can just be shitty, Emily is downright terrifying in how abusive she can be towards people. I’m surprised she didn’t slap Matt for not doing what he was supposed to do and carry her bags. At least then we would have the mentally controlling partner abusing character come full circle.

Mike

Bottom line, Mike is a walking can of Axe Body Spray come to life. He is supposed to be one of the two main characters, the other being Sam, that we are supposed to root for. But he doesn’t come across as someone I care about. Typically speaking, it irritates me that I have to play as him throughout most of the game.

Not only is Mike kind of a douche towards most people, seeing himself as superior in most ways, but his actions make absolutely no sense. He has the option to shoot his ex-girlfriend just because she “might” pose a risk though he is talking out of his ass. He wonders off half cocked and forcibly extends the plot. He talks down to people whenever they do something that he doesn’t agree with. Not only is he kind of a dick, he is also a stupid dick. Mike does have a few redeemable qualities if you play him right. But really, that is about it.

Jessica

After multiple playthroughs, Jessica is a character that kind of grew on me more than I thought she would. I still do not find her a particularly likable human being… But she is up there. I do find her character to be somewhat shallow and superficial, though they do address it in the game, which is good, I still find Jess to be a character that isn’t interesting to interact with. Maybe it is just my personal biases in that she is someone I genuinely would never hang out with, but I still find her attitude to be somewhat irritable. So while she has grown on me, I still find her unlikable enough to put her low on the list.

Ashley

Now… I should stress that Ashley is low on this list because she is the character, above all characters, whose personality is pretty much locked within your reach. As long as you play the game a certain way, Ashley is a kind hearted, remorseful, and all around good human being.

However… If you play her wrong… She is actually a terrible fucking person who will leave a man to die just because he wouldn’t kill himself for her… Even if she tells him to do it. She can have no remorse towards what she did to Beth and Hannah and can be one of the worst people in the game. Dependent upon your playthrough, Ash can either be the highest of the high or the lowest of the low. She finds herself more on the lower end because her actions, if she is bad, is so abhorrent it makes my skin crawl. But beyond that, if you play her right like I do, you won’t have any problems.

The Stranger

Also known as the red herring and exposition ferry, the Stranger is off putting… But it is because he is supposed to be off putting. He is a reclusive hunter who lives in the mountains hunting wendigo. I am not surprised if he isn’t a giant ball of fucking sunshine.

I dislike the character though because I feel like there is so much more that could have been done with him. We could have had a grand final stand or something like that. I am cool with him dying no matter what we do, it is kind of necessary in some regards, but the guy was a plot point for most of the game, showed up to exposit the third act, and then got decapitated due to one mental error after years of hunting these things. Come on dude! You can do better than this.

Josh

I wanted to put Josh square in the middle because he is a redeemable and likable character whose action force him to do something he wouldn’t ordinarily do… But man, his actions in the game are somewhat reprehensible. The game even makes a point to mention the fact that he spent the better part of the first act of the game torturing Chris, Sam, and Ash… Even though Ash was the only one out of the three to take part in the prank that lead to Hannah and Beth’s death. His actions afterwards are just off and as he slips into hallucinatory insanity and level headed clearness, you can see a deliberate action in his motives that is somewhat troubling. So even if he is a redeemable character, although it is hard forgiving him for saying the line “bone zone,” his actions definitely drop him low on the list.

Beth

Even though we get little of Beth in the game, from what can be told of her, she seems to be a generally good person. I mean, sure, she has a bit of an edgy side to her and a personality that can be off putting. But overall, she seems to be protective of her family and her friends and has a generally positive vibe about her. Even her potentially shitty moment of dropping Hannah to save herself is kind of understandable considering it is between her and death. Whose to say we wouldn’t do the same thing in her situation? So props for not being a shitty person for the few minutes on scene.

Matt

Poor Matt… He really does get the shit end of the stick when it comes to this game. Not only does it want him dead, but it gives him the least amount of time of most of the characters. Even when he is on scene, he is abused at every end by his girlfriend. But all things considered, he is a pretty cool dude.

I mean, sure, he can be a tool sometimes. But he does mean well and he does have the best intentions for those around him. He can also put up with a lot of bullshit and is generally a stand up kind of guy.

Hannah

Oh poor Hannah. The surprise main antagonist of the game is a precious cream puff that must be protected at all cost until she inevitably falls off a cliff to her demise. Although, I do want to have a word with the writers to let them know that there is a big difference between 13 year old girl and 19 year old girl, there are some things that I can let slide. But seriously, I don’t know how many people who move past the age of 16 keep adorable diaries complete with butterflies and fawning over boys… Especially with little drawn emojis all over the thing.

But I digress. Hannah is the most tragic character in the game due mainly to the fact that she is clearly the most innocent out of the ten friends. She is so blissfully unaware of the fact that most of her friends are complete ass monkeys that she will naively wonder into the most ill conceived prank in history. She is an innocent sweetheart… And is back for revenge!

Sam

While one of the main characters can be discarded like the used can of Bod Man Fragrance Spray that he is, Sam is an absolute gem from start to finish. Not only is she the only friend that actively objects to the horrible joke that is pulled on Hannah since Josh and Chris were unconscious. Her personality is that of a sarcastic goofball and has everyone’s best interests at heart. Her decisions in the game can feel a little… horror movie logic. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that she is easily one of the most likable and redeemable characters in the game.

Chris

Out of all the characters in the game, there are few who are as adorable as this dorky soul. Chris is the living embodiment of all things tech geek and lovable goofball. Even in a poorly conceived horror movie, the Chris character would be the redeemable character that you want to see survive out of the group. Sure, his dorkiness can be somewhat overbearing, but it is all in good fun and makes him easily the most likable character in the game. I do get upset that his character is so closely tied to Ash, but that can be forgiven as long as Ash isn’t a terrible human being to him. Of all the characters in Until Dawn, Chris is definitely the best.

One thought on “Until Dawn Characters Ranked from Shittiest to Most Redeeming”

Like Ashley, Emily can be sweet to Matt based on choices and such. Unlike Ashley however, Emily knows how to get her shit together, running away from a Wendigo, and even pushing a barrel over and setting it on fire based on her observation of the flame thrower guy using fire against the wendigo.
Ashley has never got to face REAL danger. Sure, she experienced scary shit, but people really need to stop justifying her intentions to kill two characters because she has fear and anxiety. Not to mention that she loses honesty if you choose to be apologetic about pranking Hannah.
Emily at least admits to her bitchy attitude at the police scene. Ashley hides it.